Growing Stage
by Katily
Summary: When his godchild suddenly appears and needs help, Derek and Meredith are forced into being parents too fast and too early after the shooting. With the child having some secrets and problems herself- will their relationship survive this challenge?
1. Prologue

Hi there!

This isn't my first fanfiction, but it is my first in English. So please don't be offended by the mistakes I've surely made. I hope you like this story, it won't be so much MerDer at the beginning, but it will get better, I'm sure. This will only be a short prologue, most of the other chapters will be much longer =)

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Dying is easy.  
>Living? Not so much.<p>

Listening to the quiet house, Chloe closed the book she was reading when her tummy started to ache with hunger. She went downstairs, trying hard not to make any loud sounds. In the kitchen, she breathed a sigh of relief – to early. As soon as the door of the fridge was open, three full and a lot of empty bottles fell out and shattered on the ground.  
>Then, hell broke loose.<p>

Loud footsteps echoed through the house, grunts of physical effort could be heard nearby. The girl knew well that she couldn't run away, so she started to clean the mess at her feet.  
>"What are you… DOING here? This isn't your house for… for god's sake!" he started to shout as soon as he set one foot into the kitchen.<br>She didn't look up when she gave her muted answer: "And yours it isn't, either."  
>"WHAT did you just…?"<br>With two big steps he was at her side and yanked her up by her arm. "Let me go! Don't touch me!" she started to scream and kicked his leg. Soon, he had her second arm in his hands, too, and was staring deep into her green eyes. Without wanting it, her eyes filled with tears.  
>The fight stopped suddenly when a third person walked into the room. The woman was more falling then walking, and the girl had her problems with understanding what she was saying, because her speech was slurring.<br>"Why are you being so noisy? Chloe what have you done…this time? Look at this… messy floor!"  
>"Mom!" Chloe screamed. With a sudden movement, she got free from the man's hands. Looking at her mother, the tears spilled over.<br>"Mommy, I haven't done anything! I'm just hungry. I want something to eat."  
>The woman shook her head.<br>"No. Mike wouldn't do such a mess! It was you! Clean it up."  
>With that, she turned around and wanted to leave, but her daughter threw herself at her and hugged her waist.<br>"Mommy, please. Tell him to go. I am your daughter; you have to take my side! Why can't it be just us? We don't need him!"  
>Sybil Larson sighed and untangled herself from the arms of her daughter. While going out of the kitchen, she murmured: "Like her father. Just like her father."<br>When her mother turned away and left the room, it was like someone was tearing the girl's feelings apart. But when the man smirked at her like he was the child in the room and told her to clean the mess before he went after his girlfriend, she took one glance at the fridge. Like most of the time it was only filled with fluids. In a swift and nearly desperate motion, she left the kitchen, too.  
>And ten minutes later, she left the house.<p> 


	2. 1 Chloe

Thanks a lot to those who favored my story, and a special thanks to FrozenWarrior and SeriouslyMcDreamy, who wrote reviews for my short prologue! You made my day! Thank you!

This is the first chapter, I will try to give you another update at the weekend.

What I forgot last time: I own no rights of the GA-characters- only Chloe got out of my head ;)

Chloe

Derek and Meredith spent the night together in an On-Call-Room. Only Meredith was on Call, but Derek still had a lot of urgent paperwork to do, so he stayed, too. But both only got little sleep, as the roads were icy that night and both were needed in emergency room and OR. Derek was awake first, a look at the watch confirmed that he only had around two hours of sleep. But, deep in himself, he had a feeling. Thinking about it, trying to decipher what could happen, he stayed still and stared at the bottom of the bed above. Meredith, who woke a few minutes later, found him in the same position. After a little yawn, she gave him a quick kiss and snuggled close to his body again.

"Morning."; Derek greeted her back, still lost in thoughts.

Concerned by this, Meredith pushed herself up onto her elbows and took a closer look at him. "Derek? What is it? Something wrong?"

He sighed and shook his head. "No. Nothing's wrong… yet. But I have a feeling."  
>She took a deep breath and he hurried to correct himself.<p>

"It isn't a bad feeling. Only that there is something coming. Something big. But I don't know what."  
>She let herself relax a bit again. After another tired yawn, she said: "Probably a major accident. Or you can feel that this winter will be bad. It is only October and the roads are already full of ice and it will probably snow soon."<p>

And in that moment, their pagers started again. She cocked one eyebrow at him. "See? It is work you are feeling. Unfortunately."  
>With that she pecked his mouth again and crawled out of bed. Following her lead as his alarm sounded, too, he closed the door to the room behind him. Still, he couldn't stop this feeling. And it stayed with him, the whole day at work.<p>

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><p>It was raining cats and dogs when the girl made her way to the counter in Seattle Grace Hospital. She was wearing nothing then a long sleeved sweater, Jeans and a backpack that looked half empty. She was holding her left arm with her right hand and looked kind of lost in the big hospital.<p>

"Ehm. Sorry? But could you tell me where Doctor Shepherd is? I'm looking for him."; she explained to a nurse.

Doctor Bailey, who was singing some charts at the counter, looked up. She calculated the age of the girl around 13 and after thinking of the girl's age, she started to walk towards her.  
>The nurse started to argue with the girl, she didn't see the need of calling the Head of neurosurgery out of his office only for a girl who didn't have an appointment or was rushed in as a neuro-patient herself.<p>

"But I need to see him! Why can't you just tell him that Chloe is here?"

Dr. Bailey took the tears that showed in the eyes of the girl as her sign to step in.

"Sorry, Chloe? Is that your name?" The girl looked at her, then shook her head yes.  
>Gesturing at the arm, Bailey asked: "Are you hurt, sweetheart? Is your arm bothering you?"<p>

Chloe shrugged. The lady in front of her was unknown by her and the only one she wanted right now was Doctor Shepherd.  
>"My name is Doctor Bailey. I'm a good friend of Doctor Shepherd. Why don't you follow me and I take a look at you arm? And while I'm doing that, you can tell me why you only want to see our Neurosurgeon."<p>

During her words Dr. Bailey took some steps towards the girl, only to see Chloe taking steps away from her. Thinking about how to earn the trust of the girl, Dr. Bailey stood still. She didn't want her to run away.

Maybe it would be the best to follow the girl's wishes and to call Dr. Shepherd.

Whilst she looked towards the counter to tell the nurse to page the surgeon, a voice called suddenly:

"Chloe?"

The girl turned around in a hurry, only to see the man she was looking for.

"Uncle Derek!" she hurried towards him. In front of him she stopped while she bit her lip. Derek Shepherd was surprised, asking himself how his godchild got to Seattle, but a part of him was happy to see her again.

It was years since their last meeting and only long talks via phone and internet didn't help to feel nearer to the other. Now, it was clear to him that his feeling from this morning was about this surprising visit.

The girl's feelings were unsure. What would her uncle think of her, when she told him the truth about running away? Would he send her back? Would he even accept her here, at his work? In the city he was living with his wife she hadn't met?

But when her uncle opened his arms after a second of surprise, she snuggled close to his body while he hugged her.

"Hi Uncle Derek." She whispered. With her eyes closed, she breathed in his scent. The scent that made her feel so secure.

"Hey sweetheart. What are you doing here?"

When he got now answer, he held her away from his body and took in her appearance. She looked tired; he could clearly see the dark shadows under her eyes. Worn out. She was thin, her face looked haggard. And he got the impression of her not having seen a shower in days, maybe even weeks. Even being dripping wet with rain, her hair looked greasy. And her eyes! The eyes that belonged to a thirteen year old looked too serious, there was no hint of the always happy and smiling child he once knew.

"What happened, Chloe?", he whispered.

She looked up to him and answered: "Mom happened. Mom, her silly boyfriend and too many bottles. I… sneaked out. And came here."

He took a sharp breath in and hugged her again. He knew that her mother had found a new love, it was years since her husband and Chloe's father, his friend from University, died, but he never knew that Chloe had problems with him.

"Why haven't you called? I would have come and picked you up at the train station."

"Oh I did call, Uncle Derek, but your phone went straight to voicemail. And it would have been hard to pick me up."

"Why?"

"Ehm. You know. The train was too expensive so I had to take the bus. And after that. The car."

He groaned.

"Which car, Chloe?"

"Well, there was this nice woman, she was with me on the bus and then her husband picked her up and they drove me a few hours nearer and then there was the other nice woman and she drove me all the way to  
>Seattle."<p>

"You hitchhiked? Chloe Louise Larson! What were you thinking?" When he raised his voice he recognized too late that his niece wasn't in the mood to take his words. It was like seeing her shutting down. Her body tensed, she looked down on her feet. A bit helpless he pulled her in for a new hug. Rubbing soothing circles on her back, getting all wet from her wet clothes, he waited for her to open up again and to relax.

"Okay. What do we do now…" he whispered to himself.

Doctor Bailey cleared her throat loudly. "Doctor Shepherd? I think you should take a look at your nieces arm. Looks like she is injured."

Immediately, his attention was back to the child in his arms. He held her away again and looked over her closely. "Is that true? Are you hurt, Chloe?"

She shook her head yes and raised her left arm.

"Yeah. I kind of fell… There was an ice patch on the ground and I slipped. It's just a bit bruised, I think, and it was bleeding."

He didn't hesitate; carefully he pulled up the wet sleeve of the girl's hoodie and looked at her arm. He wasn't pleased with what he saw. There was a long gash on the side of her hand.

"Chloe, I know you don't like needles- but that cut needs stitches." She groaned. Miranda Bailey, who was still standing right next to them, and saw the cut, too, rushed to get some compresses for her colleague.

Derek started to hold the injured hand up above the heartlevel to slow the still flowing blood and took the compresses to put pressure on the injury. The girl hissed.

"Yes, I know that hurts, I'm sorry, sweetheart. Come on, I'll take care of that. Then we'll see that you get some dry clothes." He put his arm around her small shoulders and pulled her into his side.  
>"Dr. Bailey? Could you please page Meredith? Or no, she's in surgery right now- but, when she is out."<p>

Miranda nodded firmly, Derek only spoke out loudly what she had thought to herself only seconds ago. "Of course. Don't worry, I'll bring you some dry clothes, too. You just take care of your girl."

"Thank you!" With that he turned around and pulled the girl with him. Nobody said a word until they found an unused little emergency room. Derek helped his niece up on a stretcher, then he got everything he needed to sew the cut.

"Okay Chloe, first I'll numb the area, then we have to wait 'till the lidocaine takes effect."

"Numbing as in with a syringe?" She looked at him with big eyes and he sighed. That wouldn't be easy…

"Yes honey, with a syringe. But I'll be careful, it will be over in a sec."

"No." She told him firmly. "Just put a band aid on it. It isn't that bad, Uncle Derek. See, it already stopped bleeding."

Derek cracked a dark grin, but then slowly shook his head.

"No, Chloe, every doctor and every nurse in this hospital will tell you that this cut needs stitches. Or it won't heal. Just stay still and the hard part will be over soon." She started to tremble with fear, so that he had to be extra careful. When the needle pierced the skin, she whimpered timidly, but Derek kept his promise: It was over very fast.

"Okay, already over. Are you cold?" She nodded.

"Then get out of your hoodie, I have a blanket here. It will help till you have dry clothes."

"I have some sp-spare clothes in m-my backpack. Bu-But they are wet, too." Now that the shot-part was over, cold and exhaustion started to get to her. She started to tremble and shatter with her teeth. Derek helped her out of her clothes, leaving her only in a tank top, then he slung the blanket around her small shoulders.

"Now I'm only hoping she won't catch pneumonia or any other infection. Looks like her mind is in a bad shape, she won't need her body ill, too.", he thought, but to the girl he said nothing. Keeping a close eye on her, he rubbed her shoulders to help her warming up. The medication took effect very fast, so after a few minutes he told her to lie back on the stretcher.

She was confused. "Why? I'm not going to collapse or something, Uncle Derek."

He smiled. "I know, sweetie. But you had already problems with a syringe; I don't want you to watch how I sew."

Her mouth formed a little o and she lay back immediately. But it wasn't Derek who sewed the cut: By the time he had the cut cleaned well enough to be sure he had minimized the chance of infection as far as he could and wanted to start, the door opened.

"What have I heard? The chief of surgery gets a visit from his favorite godchild and he did not call me?" Mark Sloan came in, a grin on his face.

"Mark!" Chloe got up fast. With a sigh, Derek put needle and thread back on the table while his best friend went over to the girl and hugged her.

"How are you, Chloe? What are you doing here?"

"Ehm… I'm fine. And I just wanted to pay my godfather a visit; I haven't seen him in too long." She smiled up to Mark, but both men could easily look behind the smiling façade.

"Okay, and why are you paying a visit to one of our emergency rooms?"

"She fell, Mark. And she hurt her hand. I tried to sew the cut, but then you came in.", explained Derek and rubbed his temples. This situation- heck, the whole day!- was giving him a headache. "But with you being the plastic surgeon, why don't you just do the work while I sit and talk to my niece? I have everything ready; you can start as soon as you are cleaned."

Mark looked his old friend in the eyes; then he nodded and washed his hands. While he was getting ready, Derek pushed the girl back on to the stretcher and took her unharmed hand.

"Just relax, Chloe", he told her when Mark started. After the first three stitches, the door opened and Miranda Bailey entered. She was holding a clean pair of scrubs.

"Okay, that's the only thing I could get, it's too late to shop anywhere, shops are already closed. But at least the Scrubs are dry." She put the clothes on a third chair in the room and smiled at the girl.

"Thank you.", Chloe said.

"You're welcome, dear. Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Grey will be coming to your office as soon as her surgery is finished."

"Thank you, Miranda."

"Uncle Derek?", Chloe waited till Miranda had left the room, then she addressed her uncle, "Can I sleep at your home this night?"

"Of course, Chloe. You wouldn't think I would send you home today, would you? You can sleep in the guestroom and we will see what we'll do tomorrow. We will also have a long talk then." She nodded, but he could see in her eyes that she was scared. With a small smile he brushed her hair out of her face. "Don't worry. Everything will be all right."

She gave him a small smile back.

"Okay, I'm finished. Only a dressing and you are good to go.", announced Mark. "And with me being the best plastic-surgeon of this whole country, there will only be a little scar." He smirked proudly at the child, earning a little grin from her. Derek helped Chloe to sit up, pulling the blanket around her shoulders once again.

"Do you hurt anywhere else? Did you hit your head with your fall?" She shook her head, watching Mark while he wrapped her hand tightly. "Allright, take care that the bandage isn't getting wet and if it starts to hurt badly tell Derek. You can take some painkillers for the night, I even would recommend this." The doctor told her while he took in the deep shadows under her eyes.

The dressing was finished soon and the two men left the room so she could change into the clean Scrubs.

"Okay, Shep- what's the real reason for her to be here?" Mark looked curious and concerned at the same time. His best friend smiled.

"Being a father suits you, Mark. Suddenly you are concerned about every child that seems in danger." The plastic surgeon shrugged.

"It looks like she needed a break from home. Sybil is drinking, Chloe told me."

Mark sweared loudly-

"Mhm. Coming to Seattle was the only thing she could do- with her grandparents dead. I should have seen the signs! When I phoned her in the last months, she was quiet- too quiet for the Chloe I know. It was my Job to look after her, I promised this to Jarl, and now I've failed…" Derek sighed.

"Uh, Derek, you have definitely not failed him or her. You had a lot on your mind, and you have a long road of recovery behind you. Think of Meredith and what happened with her during… There was no way you could have looked out for a 12 year old girl. As long as you don't send her back to her mother without getting help, you don't fail her."

The neurosurgeon looked at his watch. "I still have 5 hours of my shift ahead… Maybe she should just rest in my office instead of staying home alone. And she should meet Meredith."

Mark nodded. He wanted to suggest taking Chloe to Derek's and Meredith's home, but considering that all inhabitants were working, and staying alone In a foreign house wasn't an option, it was either an on-call-room or the couch in Derek's office. Considering again the fact that almost daily the beds in on call rooms were used not for sleeping alone, it had to be the couch.

Another thought passed him. "Does Chloe know what happened?"

"No. But I will have to tell her. But not today. And not tomorrow morning. There are more important things as me having a scar she should know of."

The door to the little emergency room opened slowly. A shy Chloe came out, looking at least dry and warm.

"Uncle Derek? I don't have any shoes… My sneakers are wet and I don't want the new socks get wet, too."

He smiled at her. "That's okay; maybe Meredith has a pair of shoes for you. I'll ask her later. Do you think you can take care and walk without shoes? I will help you not to slip."

She nodded.

"Good. Chloe, I still have to work for a few hours, but then I can take tomorrow off to spend all day with you. Would you wait in my office for me? I've got a couch there, so you could rest a bit."

She nodded again and looked at her feet. Derek and Marc exchanged a glance at this unusual behavior. Normally, Chloe was a girl with a lot of self-confidence, she was never quiet, her character was for the most times described at bubbly and happy. But the girl who was standing in socks on the cold hospital floor was timid, scared and shy.

Derek quickly went to her and put his arm around her small shoulders.

"Okay let's go. Mark, would you clean the room? Thank you."

"Of course, I was always the guy to do the cleaning! Bye Chloe, I hope we'll see each other again soon!" The girl smiled back at her uncle's old friend and waved with her unharmed hand. But she followed her uncle to the elevator and a few floors up to his office. When they entered, she whistled.

"Dr. Derek Shepherd, Head of neurosurgery. Looks nice!"

He grinned at her.

"I know. And it's nice and quiet here, nobody will disturb you here. The couch is yours." She sat down and sighed. "Thank you. Thanks for letting me stay. I know it's kind of silly… To just show up without a warning and stress you. And your girlfriend. Eh- wife."

He crouched down on his knees in front of her and took her hands in his.

"Chloe, don't worry about your stay. You are always welcome and I'm sorry that I haven't called more often. But things happened… I'm going to explain them in the next days. Now you just rest, I can see that you are tired." He got up and waited till she was curled up on his couch, than he tucked a wool blanket around her.

"Are you warm? Hungry? Do you need anything?"

"Maybe something to drink? A cup of tea would be nice…"

"Yes, tea sounds good to get you all warm again. I'll be back in a minute with some tea." He bent over her and kissed her forehead, recognizing the cold of her body. With a sad smile, he went out of the room and to the cafeteria to get some tea, but when he came back to his office again, his godchild was fast asleep.

He put the tea on his desk, switching on his desklight. He wrote a quick note to glue it outside his door, telling everyone who passed that no one was to disturb his office and left the room, leaving the little light on and the main light off.

But his worries were for no reason: The girl was so terribly exhausted, that she didn't wake to him coming back after hours of rounds. She didn't wake when Meredith entered, and not when Derek carried her to his car and into the house later. She was exhausted, physically and mentally.

And Derek was more than glad that she got a good night's rest.

He himself stayed awake for most of the night, until he found a resolution for the child's problem.


	3. 2 Home

Hello again!

Again, a huge THANK YOU to my reviewers! It's always great to now that there are people who read what I write=) Thanks!  
>And here is the next chapter, a long one again. It's a bit more of Meredith, but don't worry, we'll come to the point where Meredith needs to make a fullchapter appearance =)<p>

Have fun reading, thanks for reading and I would be more than happy o read a review of you! 

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><p>Home!<p>

When Chloe woke up the next day, she didn't know where she was first. First of all, her surroundings were totally unknown by her: a plain room with only a closet and a bed, a big window on one side, the door on the other. But then, slowly, her memory came back.

She didn't surely know where she was, but considering this wasn't the hospital, it just had to be her uncle's new home.

She sat up and looked out the window.

_Rain._

Everything looked grey, it matched her feelings completely. She wanted to stay in the bed, curl up and just forget the world, but she knew she had to face her life.

With a sigh, she got out of bed and left the room. Outside the door, she hesitated. She was still wearing the clothes the doctor gave to her the evening before. She hadn't seen a bathroom for over a day. Maybe she would meet her uncle's new wife now, and she looked this…bad... What if Meredith didn't like her? And where should she go at all? Where was her uncle?

Remembering the stories her uncle had told her on the phone of the housemates of his wife, she decided to go downstairs.  
>As soon as she made the decision, a door in front of her opened and a woman came out. She wore comfortable Jeans and a pullover, her hair was just falling down her shoulders. When she looked up, a smile graced her lips.<br>"Good Morning, Chloe. Have you slept well? My name is Meredith. I'm… Well I think you know who I am."  
>Fascinated, Chloe watched the woman in front of her. Meredith was… different. She wasn't anything like Addison. At all. But the girl liked what she was seeing.<p>

"Ehm…Hi...?" She told her new aunt. "I'm looking for…"

"Derek is downstairs, making some phone calls. Just go down the steps and turn to the right. You'll hear him as soon as you are down."

"Thank you." With that, the girl took off. Meredith was right. She could hear the voice of her uncle as soon as she reached the stairs. She followed the voice quickly and smiled when she saw him sitting at the kitchentable. He looked so familiar in his dark blue sweater and the jeans; even his mimic was something she could recognize all over again.

When he saw her, he gave her a small smile back and finished his call quickly. Then he stretched his arm out to her and she didn't need any other invitation: First she took his hand, then she launched herself at him and hugged him with all her strength.

Derek couldn't help but chuckle. He closed his arms around her. "Whoa, good morning to you, too, Chloe. You look better than yesterday, so I guess your sleep was helpful?"

She nodded against his body.

"That's good. Are you hungry? Sure you are hungry. What do you want for breakfast? Cereal? Toast?"

Soon they were both seated at the table and Chloe was eating a tasting breakfast for the first time in days. Derek watched her in silence, thinking about the questioning he had to do later. He knew that this wouldn't be easy, for both of them. But it was necessary. He needed to know what happened in detail, and then he would decide what he had to do. Because of that, he told the girl to just leave everything on the table after her meal and to follow him into the living room. He sat down with her on the couch, ready to listen to her story. And Chloe? She was ready, too. She wanted to tell all the secrets she had in the last years, since her mom started to drink, to the one person she was trusting. So she started.

After a few minutes, she needed the tissues her Uncle was offering her. After more minutes, he scooted closer to her and enfolded the girl in his arms, trying his best in giving her comfort. He listened without giving a comment and when she was in his arms, he hugged and tried to soothe her, but he waited till everything was out. On the outside, he was calm. On the inside- not so much.

With every word she told him he got angrier and it took all he had to act calm. Why had he ignored the signs? All the times he phoned the house and it was Chloe who answered in a quiet voice, the fact that the last time he spoke with Sybil was probably over a year ago, or the fact that Chloe's mobile phone wasn't working anymore- because nobody paid the bills.

He held her close and stroked her hair gently until the loud crying turned into hiccups.

Gently, Chloe rubbed her tearstained face against his chest. Her face felt too hot, as if she was spiking a fever, her body felt exhausted. "And now? What will happen?" She whispered. Her throat hurt from crying so hard.

Derek took a deep calming breath and sighed. "First you are going to take a nice warm shower. And after that we- you and I- we'll drive to your mother and try to talk."

The girl shook her head. "But she won't talk. She won't listen."

"We'll try it, sweetheart. But don't worry, even if she won't talk. Then we will drive back to Seattle and think about other ways to help your Mom. I know you are scared and I am not sure of what. But you can be sure that I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thank you." She whispered again.

"You are welcome, Chloe. You are always welcome here." He kissed her head. "And now I'll show you where the bathroom is so that you can get into something different to those scrubs. Even if I have to tell you that you would be a good looking doctor." She smiled and wiped the last tears away.

"Thank you." He helped her up and led the way to the bathroom upstairs. When the door closed behind her and he heard the shower turn on, he sighed.

"How is she?" a voice asked from behind. He turned around and kissed his wife. She kissed him back, even if she was a bit surprised by the force of the kiss.

"I have phoned the hospital and I'm taking a few days off because of a family emergency. I have to talk to Sybil- she has to get help."

"Derek," Meredith started, she took him by the hand and pulled him into their bedroom before speaking, "You know that first of all she has to understand that she needs help. Without the will to stop there won't be any change."

"I know. But maybe it will help when she gets told that she will lose her daughter if she doesn't change. Meredith… I…"

She smiled and put her hand at his cheek.

"You want her to live with us. It is all right, Derek. If Chloe is all right with it."

"Thank you. I'm sorry if this comes suddenly, I know we wanted to have a baby first and I really want this, too, but…"

She shook her head and put a finger on his lips. "No. Chloe needs your help. If she wants me to participate I will help her, but first of all it is you who she needs. Now pack some things, you'll probably have to spend  
>the night there."<p>

He kissed her once again. "I love you."

She smiled. "And I love you."

* * *

><p>4 days later Meredith entered her home again after a long shift at the hospital, only to smell food. With a small smile she put off her shoes and walked into the kitchen, where her smile vanished. Her husband was sitting at the table like a picture of misery: crumbled, his head in his hands. In front of him the table was set up for dinner and behind him were pots with what looked like spaghetti and sauce.<p>

When he heard her steps, he looked up.

"Hey." She gave him a small smile again. "It didn't go well?"

He shook his head and opened his arms to embrace her. "No, not at all. It looks bad, Meredith. Really, really bad."

She leaned into his touch and kissed him. "Tell me about it."

"I threw this man, Michael was his name I think, out when we entered the house. Sybil was out cold on the couch. It took a while until she was ready to talk. And she hadn't even recognized that he own daughter was missing.  
>The house… Meredith, I don't want to imagine the hell Chloe lived in. She showed me her room, which was totally tidy, like the bathroom upstairs, too, but downstairs was only a little path freed of things. Everywhere bottles and boxes of takeaway food…<br>Sybil acted like she didn't care a thing for her daughter. I got her to sign the custodypapers and told Chloe to pack her things before I called child services. After their visit, when I was sure that nothing would take Chloe away, I put Sybil under a cold shower and when she was as sober as she will be in the next days, I told her everything she did wrong. I must have started to scream, because suddenly Chloe was in the room and screamed at me to stop, which I did, and, don't get me wrong, I'm sorry for freaking out like that, but I'm not sure if it worked on Sybil. But I can only hope that she sees what she did.

But it had an effect on Chloe. Since she told me to stop screaming, she hasn't said a word to me."

With that he shook his head full of regret.

"I didn't notice it right away. Got Chloe's things and then we left the house and drove to a hotel where we stayed for the night. The next day, we visited her father's grave and I tried again to speak to Sybil. Without getting any reason into her head. I called her best friend- who, evidently- hasn't heard a thing from Sybil in 2 years, and she promised to come and look after her.

Chloe and I stayed another night then we drove home." It felt good to get everything off his chest.

Meredith laid an arm around him. "And how is she doing now?"

"She hasn't talked. Not even one word since she heard me screaming with her mother. And she didn't eat and drink only little. I hoped I could coax her to eat with her favorite food but apparently: no."

"Where is she now?"

"Upstairs in the guest room. We brought her rocking chair, the one her father made for her mother when Chloe was born, and now she is sitting in it and stares..."

Meredith kissed him passionately. "Do you mind if I talk to her? I know I'm not good with people and I have no connection to her, but… maybe…"

He shrugged. "Try it."

With another kiss, Meredith got up and walked upstairs. She threw her jacket on the stairs- surely she would pick it up later, but now she had something to do.

When they brought the girl into their home for the first time, it was crystal clear to them that she needed an own permanent room. Luckily, the room directly opposite theirs was free, and it was big enough to host a teenager. It even got a big and almost new bed in it, so Meredith had changed the sheets fast while her husband carried the sleeping girl in. During the night after that they declared the room as Chloe's future room, until they could move into the new house.

In front of the door, she hesitated shortly. But recognizing that no preformed speech or words could help her, she gave the door a gentle knock and entered. Her husband was right. The girl was sitting in the rocking chair, swaying back and forth, without making a sound.

"Hey, Chloe. I'm Meredith, remember? Well, sure you will remember, you are not a little kid or an old woman." Meredith walked cautiously to the rocking chair and sat on the ground in front of it. The child continued to stare into space.

"I know that we both don't know much about each other, but I ask you to please listen to me. I'm not going to force you to talk, but I think listening would help. Derek probably hasn't mentioned it, but my Dad was an alcoholic, too. When his second wife died, he started to drink because he couldn't cope with the pain of losing her."

After that, the woman got quiet. What was she doing? What would she tell the girl about the liver problems that came with the drinking of her father?

"Did he stop?" Chloe's voice was raw and sounded unused even in her own ears. She looked at the woman in front of her with tired eyes.

"Yes, he stopped. He isn't drinking anymore."

"Why?"

"He started to see that there were people left on this earth that needed him. Like my sister, Lexie."

Again they sat there in silence for a short time until the till then relaxed hands of the child tightened into fists. "I can't understand why she is like that. It was always the two of us. Was I not enough? Did she not want me at home anymore and because of that she let Derek take me away? Why did she just… stare..?"

Meredith was surprised with this outburst and it took a few seconds for her to process everything. When she wanted to speak, her husband was the first to talk. He was standing in the door- he had been listening to the whole conversation.

"No, Chloe, definitely not. Your mother loves you. She just needs… some time." He came into the room and crouched down on her side, taking her hands into his. Then he connected his eyes with the eyes of the girl.

They were filled with unshed tears. Desperately she opened her fists and clung to his hands. "Do you really think she will go and become sober again? I just want her back. I don't want to be here! I want things back to normal. I just want… mommy back." She sobbed, her voice breaking at the end.

The adults shared a glance. Then Derek squeezed her hand gently when he answered. His heart was hurting with his protégé. "I can't promise you that things will be like before your Mom started to drink. But if she takes the help she is offered, you two may try one day again. This won't happen from today to tomorrow. It will take time, maybe a lot of time. But don't give up hope. And in the meantime you can live here,  
>with Meredith and me, if you are okay with that."<p>

Gently he wiped her tears away, carefully stroking her wet cheek. She took her view away from him and looked at his new wife, the woman she knew so little. "But won't I be a burden? I mean, you aren't married for too long and you probably want to have kids yourself and not a teenager in the same house wi…"

Meredith got up and scurried a step closer. "Chloe, don't talk like that. We wouldn't offer you this if we wouldn't want it this way."

"Meredith is right, Chloe." Derek supported his wife, giving her a smile of admiration and pride. Meredith had changed during the last years. A lot.

"Are… you sure?" Chloe's small voice brought him out of his remembrance of the past. She was still hiccupping.

Both grownups nodded.

"We are sure. Very sure.", Derek told her, but Chloe was still hesitating. She didn't know Meredith, and what if Derek was only telling her this because her dead father would have wanted it this way?

"You know, Chloe, Derek and I are building a house. And at the beginning of the planning phase, Derek told me that he wanted to have a special guestroom- built for a teenager. That would have been your room, whenever you would have come and visit us. He told me a lot about you and I really wanted to meet you, so I made plans for inviting you as soon as the house was finished."

Chloe stared at the woman in front of her. Maybe she was right. Maybe she was really a different type of woman like Addison. Chloe loved Addison, she wanted to be like her someday, strong, beautiful, wise and good in what she was doing, but it took a while until they were friends. But Meredith already looked different and her Uncle looked different, too. He looked whole.

She should give it a try. She would give it a try. "Okay. If it's really okay with you, I'd like to stay."

"Of course it is really okay with us!" Derek got up out of his crouch and hugged her. He was sure that the topic of her mother's condition wasn't over, but now things looked different. His niece was talking. And she was staying. Now he only needed her eating.

With a kiss to her forehead he held her away. "Now, I have a huge bowl of spaghetti with your favorite sauce downstairs which can be warmed up easily. Would you please it something? Even if you are not hungry? Your body needs the nutrients."

Looking in his eyes she could see the worry in them, so she gave her okay and soon she was sitting and the kitchen table with her new foster parents and was eating her first meal in her new home. She was as much content as she could be with this situation- but she wasn't happy. And she wasn't sure if she could be happy again anymore.


	4. Meeting Seattle

Hello there again! I'm very sorry about the daelay in updates. I had a presentation due in Uni and I had to work extra shifts... Life was too busy :(  
>But I'll try my best to not delay the update again.<br>**Thanks to all of you who liked this story and put it on story alert! (Or me on faf. author) You guys rock!**  
><strong>Another thanks goes out to my reviewers! I really appreciate the time you take to give me your opinion!<strong>

This capter has a bit Derek+Chloe time in it. And we'll see a few other characters =) Have fun with reading and I would be very happy to read a review of you!**  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Meeting Seattle<strong>

While Derek had one day off left, Meredith had to work the next day. When she sat down for lunch, Cristina fell down on a chair next to her person.

"So, tell me, is McDreamy going into McDaddy mode? Or will he stay McUncle?"

Meredith sighed. "I think we are getting into a stage that is more like a McDaddy."

"How old is McKid again? 20? Like Sloan Sloan?"

"She is thirteen. Almost fourteen. And she needs help. And I like her, so just be quiet."

"I'm pretty sure you won't like her anymore when she is all into boyfriends! Seriously Mer- a teenager?"

Owen sat down next to his girlfriend, hearing her last words he shook his head. "Cristina, only because you can't cope with a child it doesn't mean Meredith has the same problems."

Cristina looked at her boyfriend. "Don't tell me that you, too, have a child anywhere which needs shelter?" He smiled at her words and shook his head no.

Meredith rolled her eyes at her two friends and turned her head away from them. Right then, she saw her new niece coming into the cafeteria. The girl looked, once again, lost, until Meredith raised her hand so that the girl could see her. Chloe smiled briefly and made her way over after another wave of Meredith.

"Oh gosh Meredith, please tell me you didn't just do what I think?"

"Christina! Be nice!", Owen told her while biting into his sandwich. His wife turned her head to him, shot him a look and rolled her eyes.

"Hey Chloe.", Meredith greeted the girl. "How are you today? Did you sleep well last night?"

"Hi. Yes, I slept… good."

"Sit down, please. Chloe, this is Christina Yang, my best friend, and her husband, Owen Hunt."

The exchanged their hellos and Chloe took a seat at their table. "Derek is just getting some papers out of his office. He told me that I would find you here."

Meredith nodded and pulled a french frie from her lunch tray. Then she pushed it over to the girl. "Hungry, Chloe?"

She shook her head. "No, thank you."

While Meredith took the no for an answer, pulling her food back to her, Christina scrunched her eyes in thought. "You know, you really should eat them. You are awfully small for your age."

"Christina!", both Owen and Meredith exclaimed.

Meredith watched the child anxious, but Chloe only seemed dazed by this bluntness. Shaking her head, she looked at Owen.  
>"Is she always like that?"<p>

He sighed with a smile. "Yes. Mostly."

"Sounds like fun at home." The girl exclaimed.

Christina wanted to answer to that, but she was cut off by two other people setting their trays down on the table and taking a seat. Alex and Lexie.

"I hate Stark." Lexie confessed, closing her eyes before she started to rant. Alex just grinned, took a huge bite of his lunch. He was in the ER that day, his free time was precious.

"He wants to see me struggle, so he is only giving me the cases with rebellious teenagers. I'm starting to hate teenagers. Really."

"Ehm. Lexie? LEXIE?", Meredith tried to shut her half-sister up during the rat, knowing exactly what was to come, but she wasn't successful. Only when she slapped the knee of Lexie lightly, the woman opened her eyes and looked around. Taking in the sight of the small thirteen year old watching her curiously, she jumped up.

"Oh! Oh no! Oh! Hello. You are Chloe. I'm Lexie. Meredith's sister. I'm living in the same house as you and I don't hate every teenager. Only the… sick and rebellious ones."

"So don't get sick or rebellious. I'm Alex. Living in your house, too." He finished, concentrating on his lunch again.

Meredith sighed. "Don't worry, they aren't always like that. And we Greys rant a lot. You'll get used to it."

Chloe just nodded, she was a bit overwhelmed by everything. Her godfather and his wife seemed to have many friends in this hospital… And half of them were living in the same house.  
>"Is Derek going to show you Seattle today?", Owen asked to lighten the silence that lingered over the table.<p>

The girl smiled. "Yes, he is. But only a bit, he wants to take me shopping, too. I need things for the room."

Meredith recognized the carefully terminus of "The" and not the personalized "My" room, but she decided not to worry about that. Both she and Derek wanted the girl to take her time and to warm up slowly. But one thing would have to go fast: Chloe needed to get into a school. Soon. She knew Derek wanted to call a few schools that day, maybe they would take her in the middle of the school year. Even then, it would be a great amount of pressure on the girl, rumors would come up, school drama would maybe arise. And both they needed to work and couldn't stay with their new protégé in the afternoons.

"There he is." Chloe spotted Derek when he stepped into the cafeteria immediately. He was followed by Mark, both strode over to the table and Derek greeted his wife with a kiss.

"Well, well, see who we got here." Mark put his hands on the girls shoulders and squeezed them a bit. "I like the idea of seeing you more often now, Miss Chloe. At least I now know that there is someone in that house who is up for a little board game- competition." She laid her head into her neck and smiled up.

"Yeah! We totally have to do that. I think someone needs to kick your ass again."

"Chloe, language, please.", Derek corrected her, earning a smirk for the McDaddy mode from Christina to Meredith. "But I think, all in all it is a good idea. An evening with board games... Who is off on Saturday evening?"

He looked around the table, taking in the raised hands of Meredith, Owen, Christina and Lexie. Alex shrugged. "Shift in the pit…"

"Owen, invite Teddy for us, Meredith, you ask Arizona and Callie. Food will be there." Derek ordered. "And now: Come on, Chloe, let's see some parts of Seattle."

She got out of her seat immediately and scrambled to her feet. "It was nice meeting you."; she told the people she just got to know, then she smiled at Meredith. "See you later, Meredith. Bye, Mark!"

Together with Derek, she left the cafeteria while Mark took her seat. "Meredith? Do me a favor and keep a close eye on Chloe. She isn't as strong as she seems to be. There will be a collapse, and I hope only a mental one.

"  
>The whole table watched through the glass windows of the food-court how Chloe put her hands into her pockets and kept a distance to her godfather.<p>

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><p>That evening, Chloe was sitting on the couch in the living room. She was not able to listen to the silence in her new room, so she decided first to help her Uncle cleaning the kitchen and when he sent her away, because she couldn't really help with her injured hand, she sat down to read. But no word of her book reached her brain, she only watched the pages without reading. She was thinking too much. Because of that, when her Uncle sat down next to her, she was near tears and as soon as his arm was around her shoulders, and the tears couldn't be stopped.<br>She snuggled up close to him and put her head on his chest, while he pulled her close and rubbed her back.

"Will… Will she ever come… and want me back?" Chloe sobbed and Derek sighed.

"I honestly don't know, sweetheart. I hope that she comes back- not, because I don't want you to be here, don't get me wrong, but I want for you to grow up with your Mom. But I can't tell you for sure. It's up to your mother, if she wants help, she will get every help I can think of. But first, she needs to want it. We can't force her."

"But I can visit her, right? Or just call. Maybe she wants to hear from be but is only scared to call. Or she doesn't find your number."

Derek sighed. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it was most unlikely her mother would give another thought to her daughter. He couldn't tell the child what he expected from Sybil.

"Yes sweetheart., and you can call Marian, too- she is looking after your mother from time to time- and in school holidays we will visit her and see how she is doing."

They stayed like that, cuddling close to the other, for over half an hour, which was spend by Chloe almost entirely with crying. Finally, she pulled away and wiped the tears of her cheeks.

"Stupid alcohol. And stupid tears. I've wet your shirt, Uncle Derek, I'm sorry!"

He shook his head. "Don't be, Chloe. As long as you are feeling better, it's okay. And whenever you want to talk, don't hesitate to come to me. Or Meredith, too. Even if you don't really know her yet."  
>She smiled a little.<p>

"I like her. She is… different. But I like her."

He gave her a smile back. "That is great, sweetheart. And she likes you, too, she told me. Maybe you two should spend one of the next days with shopping, after our own try was so… disastrous."

She giggled, remembering how the only made it to two furniturestores but after walking into a girls clothing store her Uncle got uncomfortable with all the female glances that were shoot at him. "I'm just getting this in to laundry and pick up a new shirt. Wanna watch a movie afterwards? Or spend more time talking? Just you and I?"

But Chloe didn't get his words. He was already opening his shirt while talking and the first things her eyes fell on was the long scar of the shooting.

"Wh-what happened? This scar…"

Only now Derek realized what a mistake he had done. Instead of having a nice evening with his niece, now they would need to talk further. About things he didn't really like to tell her because it would stress her out again.

"Well… Remember when I missed our monthly phone call some months ago? And the time, my mother visited Meredith and me and spoke to you because I was… busy?"

Chloe nodded, her hands started to tremble.

"Sh, Cloe. Calm down. Everything is all right now. There is no need to be scared."

He closed his hands around hers and squeezed them lightly. Carefully, he started to explain what happened in the hospital after Mr. Clarkes wife died and how Cristina Yang saved his life. After this revelation, he held her close again until she calmed down as much as possible again. Her head laid on his chest. Still sobbing, she concentrated on the sound of his heart. The all time in the same rhythm beating heart, which was almost destroyed by a crazy man with a gun. Almost. She almost lost the man that felt more like a father to her as her own- because she only had a few memories of her real dad.

With that thought, her grip of her uncles shirt tightened. She almost lost him. And right now, she didn't want to let him ever go.


	5. Starting a new life

Hello!

I'm back, with a new chapter. Thanks for your reviews!  
>I have to admit, I don't like this chapter much. But it felt necessary to show how a bit of all the problems caught up with Chloe.<p>

So, I hope at least some of you out there take a liking to this chapter. And it would be great to read a few reviews!

Have fun with reading! 

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><p><strong>Starting a new life<strong>

The next days of the week flew by. Chloe was overwhelmed with her new life. First of all, the city was too big for her liking. She took a liking to the ferry boats, but the rest was too big for her.

Second, there was always someone in the house and she still wasn't used to having so many housemates.

And lastly: She took a special liking to Meredith, and Meredith to her, because whenever the older woman had a minute to spare, they spend it together. But she felt that something was off. There was always a hint of grief in her eyes when Chloe watched secretly Meredith.

Last night, she had heard the adults argue. She couldn't make out words, only the raised voices, but when she left her room to go to the toilet, she heard Meredith cry. And she couldn't shake the feeling that the argument and the crying had something to do with her, because between the sobs of Meredith she had overheard her name. She took that as a hint to pull back a bit from the adults. So, instead of keeping them company, she hid in her room, pretending to be busy with reading. Also, she wasn't feeling well. Since the evening before she had a constant headache, causing her to not be able to sleep. Her biggest wish was just to curl up in bed and get some rest, but there was no opportunity for it:  
>This evening was the board-game evening.<p>

Derek and Meredith had the weekend off, and the furniture-store had delivered the new closet. Because he knew that his time off was precious, Derek wanted to get the closet standing that Saturday, so that they could put in the girls clothes. To his help, he called Mark, and both men were up in Chloes new room, hammering and drilling. Meredith was watching them, while the girl was downstairs, preparing the newly bought things for school.

While watching her husband building up the furniture of their niece, Meredith remembered the evening before. They hadn't argued, but they had discussed the further use of Meredith's fertility treatment. While Derek wanted to continue, Meredith wasn't sure. On one hand, she wanted to continue, she really wanted to have her own child. But she knew that Chloe would need all their attention, so they didn't have the time to raise a baby. Also, she wasn't sure if the child could stand the constant mood swings the woman had because of the medication. Meredith had raised her voice and was close to shouting when she explained to her husband what her problem was, and she still wasn't sure if continuing the therapy was the right way. But she knew that stopping the treatment would mean going back to zero- and even if she had now an older child living in her house, she wanted a newborn born by herself. So she cried, cried in the embrace of her husband, her rock, about the turmoil that was going on inside her.

With a sigh, she got up and told the men that she would be downstairs, spending some time with the child. When she came down intzo the kitchen, she found Chloe slumped over, her head on her hands, with closed eyes. She was pale, Meredith noted, and there were again shadows under her eyes.

"Chloe? Sweetheart?", she asked softly, not wanting to frighten the girl.

With a little jump, Chloe sat up straight. "Yes?"

The woman raised here eyebrows. "Is everything allright?"

Her only response was a quick nod and a short smile, then she could watch the child packing the books and stuff into her backpack for school. Meredith knew that something was wrong. But she also knew, that it wasn't her place to ask. She wasn't the child's mother, and if Chloe didn't want to talk from herself, she had to stand back and watch.

"Okay. How about I make a quick stop in the bathroom and then we get started on that pizza? You want to help?"

"Yes, I'd like to. I'll just bring my bag upstairs." While she was walking to the stairs, the housephone started to run. As no one was going to answer, Chloe took the phone up. Hesitating, she said: "Grey-Shepherd-house, hello?"

"Hello, who am I speaking with?" an irritated voice asked back, but Chloe recognized the voice.

"Hi Carolyn. It's Chloe."

"Chloe? Sweetheart, what are you doing at Derek's? It's so nice to hear you again! How are you?" You could tell from the sound of the older woman's voice that she was more than surprised.

Chloe hesitated again. Should she tell her uncle's mother the real reason of her visit? Or should she just keep quiet?

The child took a deep breath just as Meredith came out of the bathroom. "I'm living with Derek now. Mom's an alcoholic. I ran away."

There was a short break at the other end of the line, then a sharp intake of breath and a whispered "Oh no! Sweet girl, I'm so sorry!"

Meredith walked slowly to her protégé, she could see how Chloe was fighting back her tears. Soothingly she put an arm around the child's shoulders and used her other hand to take away the phone. Taking over the conversation with Carolyn, the woman she got to know so good while her husband was in ICU after the shooting, she pulled Chloe close to her body, wanting only to comfort the child. But she pulled away, fighting back her own tears and wiping the escaped ones away.

Meredith was hurt by that, and shocked, too. While her mother in law talked on the phone, she could just stare at the girl who turned herself away. This was how Derek and Mark found them when they came down this moment. Both could see that something had happened, but Derek was shortly later more occupied with talking to his mother, because his wife just gave him the phone and marched upstairs. She needed a minute on her own, this little episode just confirmed her fears of being rejected by the child her husband adored so much. After all she went through, she shouldn't be so hurt by this, but in her hormonal mess it felt like a knife was stabbed directly into her heart,

Derek finished the call quickly, passing the phone on to his best friend. After that, he gave Mark a sign to leave the room and turned to his godchild.

"Chloe? Can you explain to me what just happened?"

She shrugged, toying nervously with the sleeve of her pullover. "I told your mother the truth."

He nodded, carefully. "Yes, she told me that. And it is upsetting you, I can understand that."

Her body went stiff. "No!"

"Hm? Chloe, you have to…"

She raised her head and looked him directly into the eyes.

"No, you can't understand that, You were never a case for social services. Your parents didn't abandon you. You have a happy life with a great wife who makes you happy and you will make lots of happy children, and till that you are generous to keep the social case in your house! But you can NOT understand how I feel!" She raised her arms and started to pull her hair.

He stayed calm, only watched her, recognizing all the features of another little mental breakdown. "Then tell me."

She pulled her hair even more.

"Tell me how you feel." He pressed again.

She took a few unsteady breaths. "I feel… alone. Lost. Ill. Alien. And I want to go home. I want my mom, don't want to be here. But I can't. And I don't want to go to a new school, where all will know that I am THE social service-case that only got into the school because she lives with a man who is a well known surgeon! I don't want to be this case anymore. I want to be Chloe and stop working so much on keeping calm! And… I ..want it… to stop! I want… this damn headache… to stop… hurting!"

She started hyperventilating with her last sentences and with the last words, her knees gave away. Derek caught her easily, pulling her close to his chest with one arm, while he stopped the hair-pulling with the other.

"it's okay, Baby, it's okay. I've got you. Just breathe. In and out. Stop crying and count your breaths, with me." He talked her back to an acceptable breathing when her crying calmed down a bit.

"I'm sorry.", she whispered against him when she was calm again.

"No, sweetheart, you don't have to be sorry. It was good that you let it out. Very good. And now listen: I get that you feel alone, but you are not alone. I am here- we are here; Meredith, Mark, and all the people who are going to come later. The new school is scary, yes, but no one will know why you are living with me. And for all time: YOU. ARE. NOT. A. SOCIAL. Case. FOR. US. I love you and I want to help you and I want you to live with us. We wan't to help you to get back on track again, back to your mom, but we can't help you if you won't talk to us. Like with your headache. I could have helped you a lot sooner, with only a hint. I ask you, please, start talking to any of us about your problems. We love you. We want you to be okay, even if happy isn't always possible."

She took another shuddering breath, then she nodded against his chest.

"I am still sorry. I think I hurt Meredith.", she whispered.

"That you are not talking about your problems hurts more than every reaction, Chloe.", Neither of them had heard Meredith descend the stairs. She walked completely down and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I went away because I needed a minute and because I am not good at all in this totally emotional moments. Not because of any fault by you." 

The girl surprised herselgf when she let go of her godfather and hugged her new aunt for dear life. Even more surprised than the child, Meredith put her arms around the girl. Derek smiled at them, rubbing soothing circles on Chloe's back.

After a few quiet minutes, her stepped closer to them and asked quietly: "May I attend your headache now, Sweetheart? I don't want you to be in pain any longer."

With a nod, Chloe let go of Meredith's body and took her uncle's hand. He lead her into the kitchen and asked her a few general questions, before he just took a pill of painkillers from the medicine closet. After that he tried to convince her to lie down for a while, but he was disturbed when first, Mark walked in declaring his mother wanted to visit them the following week, and second, the doorbell rang and brought in Owen and Cristina.

There was no time to rest and with the painkiller kicking in, Chloe felt an instant relieve. But the most relieve came from the words that were off her chest. She felt like she could try a fresh start now. Hopefully, a good one.


	6. 5 Living in a house full of doctors

_Heeelloooo!_

_I'm back, after my exams in Uni, with a new chapter. Sorry for the delay of one week, I had too much to learn for my exams._  
><em>So, this chapter pretty much explains the title of this story. Also it is the last chapter before the main part of this story starts. I'm already working on the next chapter, and will hopefully update on the weekend.<em>

_Have fun with reading and I would love to read a review from you!_

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><p><strong>Living in a house full of doctors<strong>

Derek was very anxious while he waited for his niece on Wednesday. He had his car parked outside the schoolyard, ready to get the girl and drive with her to the airport, where they would pick up his mother. He was glad that she would come and stay with them for a few weeks. First of all, during his hospital stay he recognized how much he missed having her around. And secondly, he could tell that Chloe wasn't feeling 100% well. He remembered clearly the happening of the board game evening, when he saw it for the first time.

_The game had not really been full going when Derek watched a tiny yawn coming from his protégé. He pulled her close with a small smile and asked: "Tired?"_  
><em>She nodded and scooted closer. Soon, she had her feet up beside her on the couch and her head lay comfortably against her uncle's chest. He had his arm around her and rubbed her back in soothing circles. 10 minutes later, Mark looked up and couldn't hide a grin.<em>

_"Daddy Shepherd is at work, I see? Is she asleep?"_

_Before Derek could answer, he caught the hurt look in the eyes of his wife and everyone in the room could hear a mumbled "NO!" from Chloe. She still had her eyes closed and after answering she rubbed her cheek against the fabric of Derek's shirt._

_They finished the game- with Mark winning, to his great joy- and got into a comfortable round of chatting. Chloe was sound asleep but Derek didn't want to disturb her or move himself, so he stayed in place, his right side covered by his godchild, his left side by his wife. But right before midnight he started to notice the heat that was coming from the child at his side. Carefully he let the hand of his wife go to feel the girl's forehead. Wrinkling his forehead in thought, he asked Owen for a blanket._

_"Everything all right?", he asked when he stood up to help his friend to put the blanket around the girl._

_"She's spiking a fever. It would explain the headache and the fatigue today; this could still be a side effect from her wandering around in the rain, or it is the stress… It isn't a high fever, but…"_

_Meredith leaned forward to get up. "It is a fever nonetheless. Let's bring her up to bed."_

_He shook his head. "Let us wait for a few minutes. I think she's sleeping better with company than alone." He shot her a meaningful lool to remind her on the nightmares, Chloe told her about. Meredith nodded and they waited for a few more minutes before tucking her into bed._

On Sunday-morning, the fever hat vanished and the child had refilled her energy-levels with a good night's sleep. But when Derek called home from work on Monday evening, between back-to-back emergency-surgeries he couldn't drive home to see her personally like he had planned, she sounded more than tired. Lexie told him this morning that Chloe had developed a cough that disturbed her sleep once again and now he was worried. At least his mother would keep an eye on Chloe at home from now on, even when he was at work.

The bell of the school rang and the kids filled out. Derek was getting even more nervous when most of the kids were already out, but he couldn't see his girl anywhere. She was one of the last to come out, walking on her own, being ignored by the others. He could see her pale skin from far away; her eyes had huge black shadows under them and were rimmed with red. She had cried not too far in the past.

He waved her over and greeted her with a kiss on the forehead when she climbed on the passenger seat. On their way to the airport, Derek wanted to pick up Meredith, her shift was already over. Driving into his reserved parking lot, Chloe volunteered to get her aunt out.

The first known face she ran into was Dr. Bailey, who was standing at the counter and was involved in a case discussion with Arizona Robbins.  
>Not knowing where to look for Meredith, she decided to ask, but she didn't dare to interrupt the discussion. Instead, she stood patiently behind the doctors, waiting for them to finish. But when Arizona saw the pale child and heard her suppressed coughs, she jumped into action. She ignored her colleague and turned to the girl, giving her a wide smile.<p>

"Hi there, can I help you? Are you here to see a Doctor?"

"Ehm, actually, I wanted to ask Dr. Bailey something." Miranda turned around, her lips turning into a smile when she recognized the child.

"Hello Chloe. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I just wanted to ask- do you know where Meredith is? I'm looking for her but I don't know where she is." Chloe asked, covering up her coughs again.

"Well, you don't sound too good, to be honest. Does your Uncle know that you are sick?" Miranda asked.

"I'm living in a house full of doctors. There is no way he could not know."

Miranda and Arizona started both to laugh.

"You know, Lexie woke me up in the middle of the night, wanting to touch my forehead to know if I'm having a fever. When I came down into the kitchen this morning, April Kepner was standing there and her first sentence was: Maybe you should stay at home, you sound sick! I know they can't help it, but this is… unnerving!"

The grownups grinned at Chloes eyerolling.

"Allright, you are Derek's niece, right? I'm Arizona Robbins." The child took in the sneakers and the colored scrubs.

"I get it: You are the pediatrician. But, back to my question: Does anyone of you know where Meredith is? Derek is waiting in the car for us!"

Miranda smiled and turned to the nurse. "Could you page Doctor Meredith Grey for me? Thank you." After that she turned back and told Chloe to wait at the counter. And a few minutes later Meredith came, together with Christina, towards her. Chloe took a few steps to them.

"There you are! Derek is waiting for us, we'll make Carolyn wait for us at the airport."

Christina raised her eyebrows at this. "My, my, little girl is bossy! She's already spent too much time with you, Mer!"

Grinning, Meredith greeted her niece with a hug and ignored her best friend.

"Then let's go. We don't want Mama Shepherd to wait." With that, they both gave a wave to their audience and turned.

"This is amazing." Miranda Bailey murmured to herself.

Arizona gave her a surprised look. "Mh?"

"Meredith. She changed so much… Look at her, she is almost getting into a motherole for the girl." With a sigh, Miranda opened the chart in her hands again.

* * *

><p>Derek, Meredith and Chloe drove to the airport in silence. Finally, when they had about 10 minutes left till Carolyn would be able to join them, he asked her what was wrong.<p>

"They know. The other kids at school know mum is drinking. And that I'm living with you. They… some of them… said some ugly things."

With a sigh he opened his arms again and pulled her close to comfort her. He had hoped that this would not happen. It were probably nosy teachers who couldn't keep their thoughts to themselves, one student who picked it up and because of that things were getting harder and harder for his girl. He looked his eyes with the eyes of his wife, who was silently rubbing the girl's back. She shrugged and looked as helpless as he felt.

"Do you want me to have a word with the school because of that?" He asked gently. Chloe shook her head.

Involving parental help would only let her seem weak. And she was not weak.

He sighed again. "All right. Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry to cancel our talk here now- and I promise you, we WILL talk again about this- but there is someone waving behind you."

The girl shot around and looked for the elderly woman who was pushing a luggage-cart in front of her with two big suitcases, one hand waving up above her head.

Derek took the child's hand and pulled her towards the exit. She wanted to step back, let her uncle be greeted by his mother first- after all, they were mother and son- but Carolyn didn't want to see any of this. Letting the cart for her son, she walked the steps toward Chloe and pulled her into a warm and motherly hug.

"Oh Chloe! Oh sweet child! Look how big you have become, where is this sweet little girl? You are almost abeautiful and grown up lady!"

Carolyn shot her son an apologetic look and stroke the girls hair.

"We have so much to talk about, you and I. We will have a lot of days just for us.", she promised before revealing the child to the world outside their hug again.

Next was Meredith. Carolyn smiled brightly at the woman in front of her. She looked a lot better than the last time they met. Back then, the young woman was destroyed and exhausted, physically and mentally. The horror of the shooting, the emergency surgery of her husband and the loss of her unborn child were too much for her, but first, she hadn't told anybody of the shepherd family. But when she almost collapsed, she had to admit the truth. Carolyn could remember this like it was yesterday, and Meredith couldn't help but remember, too, when she felt the arms of the woman around her.

"Carolyn…" Meredith murmured.

"I am here again. Don't worry. I know you have thoughts to share, we will address them soon." After tightening the hug, she let the woman free.

Compared to this, Derek's greeting was cut short, only a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. The it was his job to carry the bags to his car, while his mother linked arms with her daughter in law and put her free arm around Chloe and walked fast towards the airportgarage. All four of them spent the evening together, going out to Derek's favorite restaurant. They arrived home a bit too late for Derek's taste- it was a school night, nonetheless!- so he shooed his niece directly upstairs into bed. But he stayed upstairs and tucked her in, sensing that she needed to talk again about the happenings at school.

This left Carolyn and Meredith alone.

Both sat down at the kitchentable and the older woman didn't waste time.

"So; Meredith, how are things?"

The young woman sighed. "They are… tight. Chloe is lovely, but she has a lot to deal with. And while I'm sure Derek is perfect to help her, I'm probably not."

"Why?"

"I… I'm still dealing with the happenings on that day. And my father was an alcoholic, too, only that he needed part of my liver because his own failed with the amount of alcohol she had to run on. How can I be the one to tell her, that everything will be okay again?"

Carolyn smiled softly and took the woman's hand.

"Because of all this. Chloe is centering herself more around you right now." She gave a little laugh at Meredith's surprised look. "Yes, she is! She tries to get your attention as much as she does with Derek's. I think with telling her about your father you did the best thing you could. Maybe she should even meet him- if you're okay with that- because she needs to see for herself that everything can become okay again.

But you need to tell her how long that road to this "all okay"-point was.

Another thing is, she needs to work on herself. She is surpressing her own feelings to mend with the crowd."

"Oh yes! We felt that. After your phonecall…"

Carolyn nodded. "Mark told me about it. Maybe you and Derek should consider therapy for her. She had to live through too much at her little age, this can't be good for her.  
>You are probably thinking that you need to become a mother for Chloe, but you are scared that she will reject you. Don't be, Meredith. Stay who you are when you interact with her, and she will show you what she needs. You are doing a great job with her till now. And I am sure you'll be a great mother one day."<p>

When the young woman just looked down after this statement, her mother in law took her hand.

"You WILL be amother someday, Meredith. Some things take longer than others. And till you are really pregnant, you can work on your relationship with Chloe. The girl needs an older woman to guide her. And she wants this woman to be you."

When Derek entered, Meredith looked up and asked immediately: "Is she asleep?"

Smiling, Derek came to her side and kissed her temple. "Yes. She told me to tell you that she's looking forward to your day off later this week. And your shopping trip."

"See?", Carolyn asked with a big smile on her face. "Like I told you! You are pretty much at a growing stage right now. Don't rush, just go on like you did till now, and everything will work out."

Meredith gave her a smile back and let herself be pulled into her husbands' side. Carolyn was right. They were at a growing stage.


	7. 6 Just sick

Hi again!

Here is as promised the next chapter. It's a long one, and much happens- but even more will happen during the next chapters. Thanks for all your reviews again!  
>I will try to update again next week. But I can't promise it-unfortunately.<p>

Now: On with the story. Have fun with reading and I would be very happy to ge a review from you!

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><p><strong>Just sick…<strong>

During the next days, a lot got easier. With Carolyn in the house, both Derek and Meredith could go to work without worrying for their new protégé.  
>But slowly, Chloe got worse. She told no one, but, she was often hit by dizzy spells, her torso hurt with coughing, she was more tired than usual. But she was really looking forward to the shopping trip Meredith and she had planned, so she kept quiet.<p>

The morning of Meredith's day off, Carolyn and she were in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, when Derek came down from his shower.

"It's already half past eight- where is Chloe? She'll miss her breakfast if she doesn't hurry!"

His wife shrugged. "I haven't heard a thing from her, maybe you should go up and look? She will be late for school…"

Derek nodded and hurried up to the room of his niece.  
>He knocked and opened her door, only to find her still in bed. She was on her side, curled up under her blanket, facing the other side of the room.<p>

"Chloe? Sweetheart? Everything all right? You are late for school…"

"Too loud! I'm not feeling so good.", her voice was hoarse and sounded dry.

Derek took a seat on her bed and took a closer look at her. Her skin was almost as white as the sheet, sweat was all over her face. Only her cheeks were with color, but that gave her a very unhealthy look. He put the back of his hand on her forehead and sighed.

"Well, you have a fever… Pain in your tummy? Headache?" He started to palpate her lymph nodes carefully, until she moved her head away.

"Yes. And everything hurts. Just like… I was run over with a truck…"

He caressed her hot forehead while asking: "Is the pain in your tummy on a special side? Or is it pain in general?"

"Everywhere. And I'm feeling… like I have to puke as soon as I move."

He got up and told her: "I'll go and get a bucket for you. Be back in a minute." True to his words, he got back with a bucket after a few seconds and started to further assess her illness. Gently, he slid the thermometer in her ear to get a proper knowledge of her temperature.  
>"Since when are you feeling that bad? You could have told us."<p>

She closed her eyes again when he slid the thermometer out of her ear. "Got bad last night. And I had trouble with sleeping this night."

"Hm, your fever isn't dangerously high and I've heard there is a flu going around in the schools these days. That's probably where you got it from."

She nodded. "Yeah, my bank neighbor in biology wasn't there yesterday."

He examined her carefully, keeping special attention to her appendix, first, but he could rule that out fast. After a long time of being prodded and asked questions, Chloe was allowed to curl up again.

"This is a nasty kind of flu, just try to sleep a lot and rest, I'm quite sure your body can fight this. But if you get worse, tell me. I'm here to help you. Meredith will, too."

"Kay."

"Do you want to take something for the pain?"

"I think I can't take anything right now. Or I'll puke." She sighed and closed her eyes. On a second thought, she added: "But I think I will be better this afternoon for our shopping trip I'm just a little sick."

Derek snorted. "Sweetheart, I don't think you will be up for it. You need to rest, and shopping with a fever is no fun. I know that you were looking forward to it, but unless you are without fever or pain no shopping for you."

Tears shot into the girls eyes.

"But…!"

Derek sighed and rubbed her back. "I know, Baby. But I can't let you strain yourself so much. I'm sure you and Meredith can have a nice day here in the house, keeping things calm. And I'll talk to the chief to get her a day off next week so that you can go then."

"Kay."

He caressed her hot face one last time before he got up. The child was really not feeling well, she couldn't even really protest to the cancelling of the plans that were so important to her. "Allright, I'm at the hospital now. If you need me, just call. And if you need anything else, Mom and Mer are downstairs."

She nodded slightly. Exhaustion from her sleepless night had settled in and she was almost half asleep.

Derek left her door open so that she could be heard, then he went downstairs. The women were seated at the table, eating.

"The flu. Her temp is up to 100,5. And she is upset by the missed shopping." He took his coffee travel mug and kissed his wife goodbye. "I'll call later. Keep an eye on her. Bye!"

Meredith looked after him. "No Derek, we will just leave her on her own, ill as she is…"

Carolyn chuckled. "Well, he sure is protective of her. Even more than she is of him."  
>Meredith smiled at that and pulled a topf out. She would start a chicken noodle soup so Chloe could eat when she got hungry.<p>

* * *

><p>The girl fell into a deep sleep for the next hours, only to wake up with the urge to use the toilet. She was still exhausted and the pain from her bathroomtrip nearly brought her to tears. It was a good thing that Meredith heard her footsteps and came to check up on her.<p>

"Hey, how are you feeling?", Mere knocked on the door before she entered, just as Chloe got back in her bed.

The child just shrugged and let her grown up friend put her hand on her forehead.

"Your fever is still up. Are you hungry? I've made some soup!"

"No, thank you." While she talked, a coughing fit took over her body. ":..Ouch…"

Meredith frowned. "Yeah, that sounds like ouch. And it sounds also like you were ill for a few days. Right?"

Chloe shrugged before answering: "Could be…"

The woman sighed. "I'll call Derek and tell him to bring some things from the pharmacy home. Do you want to sleep? Or, maybe we could watch a movie together? I can make you a bed out of the couch. What do you think?"

The child's only wish was to go back to sleep, because in sleep she couldn't feel the nagging urge to cough, the headache and the urge to throw up. But she also wanted to spend some quality time with her aunt, and with Carolyn… So, all in all, the couch didn't sound so bad.

"Movie… doesn't sound bad. But…I will… probably fall… asleep."

Meredith smiled. "Then I will pause it and we watch more when you are awake again."  
>The girl got up slowly and clearly unsteady on her feet.<p>

"Okay, I'll help you down the stairs. We don't want you to fall, right?"

Chloe nodded. She didn't have the energy to concentrate on a full articulated answer as she had to concentrate so much in setting one food in front of the other. As soon as she could sit on the couch in the big livingroom, she sighed exhausted.

Meredith exchanged a look with Carolyn, who had already changed the couch into a makeshift bed.

"What movie would you like to watch, Chloe? Any wishes?", Meredith asked, making her way towards the television.

"No.", the girl rasped out. "You decide. I think I'll sleep. As soon as this headache gets better." She coughed again, groaning with the movement of her head.

Her aunt quickly chose a movie, not really watching which one she choose, and put it in the player. Then she walked into the kitchen, to get again the fever thermometer, water and a dose of Tylenol. She took the girls temperature, which was higher than in the morning, then made her take the medication, before she put a warm blanket around her and pulled her close. Cuddling into her aunt, Chloe closed her eyes. But despite her exhaustion, she couldn't go to sleep or concentrate on the movie the adults were watching. Instead, an idea formed in her head.

"Mer?"

"Mh? Yes, Chloe?"

"Do you think I could try to call Mom? Just… to tell her that I miss her? I would really like that."

Meredith hesitated. She wasn't sure what to do. The last attempt to talk to her mother left the girl in tears for hours, because Sybil was drunk to an almost delirious constitution. The young woman looked at her mother in law, who shrugged.

"Please…", Chloe whispered.

"Okay. Let's try it." She took the phone from Carolyn and passed it into the hands of her niece, who dialed quickly.

The phone rang once. Twice. Another time. And several other times, too, without anyone answering it. After two minutes of constant ringing, she gently took it from the girls hands.

"Sounds like she isn't there, sweetheart." Seeing the tears forming in the childs eyes, she squeezed her shoulders gently.

"Maybe she is outside. Or asleep. Or maybe even shopping or at a friend."; she tried to give her reasons.

"Yes. Maybe.", Chloe answered and closed her eyes again. Carolyn saw the glittering wet tears coming out under the eye lashes of the sick child and came closer. She scooted on the seat next to her and took her hand.

"You can try later -or tomorrow, again. I'm sure you can talk to her then. Now don't worry, sweet child, and try to get some rest. You are quite sick, your body needs some peace."

Chloe nodded and turned her face towards Meredith. With the comforting closeness to the two woman and the fatigue settling in, she was asleep in minutes. Her sleep was deep, she didn't really wake when Meredith called Derek and told him to bring a fever reducer from the pharmacy. She only woke shortly, when Carolyn woke her up and coaxed her into eating half a little bowl of soup, which her tummy didn't like. After getting every eaten thing out, she fell asleep again.

When Derek came home after his shift, she was upstairs in her bed again. After greeting his wife and his mother, bringing the fever reducer upstairs and see how his protégé was feeling was his first deed. He found her asleep and had to wake her up to take the new medication. Having heard what happened after the attempts to eat, he stayed with her for almost an hour to make sure the meds didn't show up again. He coaxed her into drinking another cup up tee after that, then he let her sleep.

Hours later, she was widely awake in her bed. Also, it felt terribly hot in her room, so she deiced, against better judgement and the memory of her exhaustion, to get down into tzhe living room. She couldn't read with her major headache, but maybe she could just watch a dumb tv-program. She made it downstairs safely and cuddled up on the couch, but she couldn't stand the lights and the noses from the tv, so she just stayed in the dark.

It was late after midnight when Alex entered the house; glad his shift was finally at its end. HI pushed the light button in the living room, only to be startled when some noises were coming from the couch. Walking around it, he saw a very white faced Chloe, curled up under a blanket wide awake.  
>"Well, squirt- what are you doing down here at this hour?"<p>

"Couldn't sleep. Bed was too warm."

"So you are still ill?" He took a step closer to her and felt her forehead for her temperature.  
>"Damn it, Chloe- you are burning up! Down here is really no place for you. You should stay in your bed and sleep."<p>

She huffed and sat up after his hand signs. When she got to her feet, Alex saw clearly that she was in no condition to take the many stairs up to the other floor. With a swift movement, he took her up in his arms and carried her.

"Don't tell anybody of this. Or we will have a big argument. Agreed?"

She nodded and shivered when the cold air of the floor hit her. Alex walked faster and soon she was put to bed again.

"Now, stay here. Do you need anything? More to drink?" She shook her head no.

"Kay. Did you take those fever-pills your uncle ordered today?"

"Yes."

"Good. They should kick in soon. Call if you need something, we are doctors and light sleepers. Someone will hear you."

She nodded again and watched him leave. Soon, she got tired again and couldn't help her dropping eyelids.

Derek opened the door to the bedroom of his niece. Worry was written across his face when he reached down to put a hand on her forehead. With the touch, she woke up.

"Hey sweetie. How are you feeling today?"

She shrugged and started to cough.

"Does your tummy still hurt?" She nodded and helped him to get the blanket away from her, when he said: "Let me take a look, sweetheart. I just want to be sure there is nothing I'm not seeing." She shivered when his cool hands touched her abdomen, but she did not show a special tenderness to his gentle palpating.

"Well, at least I'm sure it isn't your appendix. It's probably just the stomach flu. Come on, sweetheart, let's get you sit up. Let me help you. Okay, now I want you to swallow these pills. They should help your body to fight this infection." Without any hesitation, she took the two white pills out of his hand and swallowed them with some water he was giving her in a glass. After that he helped her to get back into a lying position and tucked her in gently.

"I'm at work now, but Mom is here. When you need something just ask her. I'm going to phone later today and tomorrow, see how it's going with you."

She shook her head yes and closed her eyes when he caressed her cheeks. With a sigh he got up and left the room.

His mother was waiting for him at the stairs.

"I gave her something; it should help with her fever and the restless sleep. Just take care that she drinks enough fluids and eats a bit. Her body needs strength. And if there are problems, if she gets worse: Call the office. I'll call you back as soon as I can."

"Okay Derek. Don't worry too much, I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thanks Mom. See you tomorrow." He kissed her cheek and took his jacket. When he left the house, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was something missing. Something important. This feeling didn't leave him in the next two days at his work. On the next morning he was sitting in a conference with Chief Webber and the administration of the hospital when his secretary knocked on the door of the conference room.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt you, but Dr. Shepherd, you mother is on the phone." Without any second thought Derek took the phone and answered the call.

"Mom?"

"Derek, something is wrong with Chloe. Her fever is getting higher and she can't hold any fluids in her stomach. I think you should see her." He knew his mother and he knew this tone of her voice. On the outside, she was calm. But inside, she was scared. This was not good. Not good at all.  
>He looked at his watch and considered briefly what to do.<p>

"All right. I'm in a conference, I can't get home now. Meredith is in surgery. But it's Marc's day off- I'll send him. Tell him he should call me as soon as he has seen her."

"Okay. But he should hurry. Bye, Derek."

Without any further word, he hung up and looked to the secretary. "Call Dr. Sloan and send him to my house, please. As soon as possible. My niece is ill. It's really urgent." She nodded and did what she was asked.

Because of that, Marc Sloan rang the doorbell 15 minutes later. Carolyn opened him and started talking as soon as she saw him. "She is upstairs in her bed, she stopped retching 10 minutes ago- there is nothing left in her. But in the last hours she changed. Maybe I'm only imagining it, but she started to bin in water." Marc took the two stairs with every step.

"Is she awake?" was his only answer. Reconsidering what Carolyn just told him, he was prepared for the worst.

"Not really. She opens her eyes but you can't get through to her."

It took one glance at the girl to take out his mobile. "Mama Shepherd, call 911. We need an ambulance. Chloe? Can you hear me? Chloe?" He tried to get her awake while Carolyn called for an ambulance. As soon as she was finished, she wanted answers.

"What do you think it is?"

"Derek was right, it's definitely an infection. But there is something else. What meds is she on?" Wordlessly she ran out the room and downstairs to get the package of the pills she gave her after Derek's instructions. When she got back o the room, Mark had Chloe in a sitting position and was patting her cheek to get here more awake.  
>Right when she was setting the package of the pills down on the bed, the girl opened her eyes a bit.<p>

"Yes, that's good. Try to stay awake, Chloe.", he told her and threw a glance down at the package. "They shouldn't have any side effects with that outcome." He murmured to himself.

Chloe didn't know what was happening. She was terribly tired, everything hurt; she was freezing and everything was so heavy. Even her eyes were too heavy to keep them open. "Der…rek" Her voice sounded timid, scared and broken.

"You will see him soon, Chloe. Try to stay awake, do not go to sleep!" Mark ordered her with a firm voice, before he asked Mrs. Shepherd: "Do you know if there is a stethoscope anywhere in this house? Maybe in Derek's and Meredith's room?" Again, Carolyn Shepherd left the room and came back with a stethoscope 2 minutes later. Mark was still talking to the girl to keep her up, while he tried to read the package instructions, trying desperately to get a clue about the girl's condition. On a sudden intuition he gently laid her back down and rolled her on her side. Then he started to feel around on her lower back, before he tenderly tapped some parts. The girl whimpered softly.

"The kidneys." He rolled her on her back again and took the stethoscope from the mother of his friend. While he was listening for her breathing and her heart, the faint sound of the ambulance could be heard.

Carolyn left the room again. "I'll go down and show them the way."

Mark put the stethoscope away, the girls eyes were closed again. Swearing quietly, he patted her cheek again. Not knowing if she could hear him, he started to talk. "Chloe, we are getting you to the hospital. Derek will be waiting for us. Don't be scared."

He didn't get an answer.

Chloe heard him, but she couldn't fight the tiredness of her body anymore. She couldn't open her eyes and she couldn't move. So she stayed in the dark, while she was feeling everything that happened to her like she was miles away. She felt the change of underground, when Mark and a paramedic laid her on a stretcher; she felt the moving of the ambulance. The hand of her new grandmother, who was caressing her forehead while they were on the way to the hospital, helped her to relax. During the drive to she felt another thing: She couldn't hold on her surroundings anymore. She couldn't feel the pain of her body anymore. She just felt tired, and finally, her mind could go into sleep, too.

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><p>Reviews, please?<p> 


	8. 7 Staying by her side

Hi there!

Once again, thanks for all of your reviews. I'm sorry I had to make you wait a week longer, but there was some birthday chaos at my house ;)  
>Now, on with the story. Have fun with reading! <p>

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><p><strong><strong>

**Staying by her side**

Major Owen Hunt was shocked when the doors of the ambulance opened and he recognized Carolyn Shepherd in it. But soon his thoughts were occupied by what the paramedic told him.

"Thirteen year old female with fever, abdominal pains. She's unconscious. Blood pressure is 160 to 98."

"Let's get her inside. How long has she been unconscious?" He took his place at the side of the gurney and started to push it in.

"Probably half an hour."

"She is falling in and out of consciousness for about 2 hours, but first I thought she was finally sleeping.", Carolyn told him and, ignoring the helping hand of the EMT, got out of the ambulance. Right then Marc was beside Owen and started talking.

"Page Dr. Robbins and Shepherd. And Dr. Grey. Owen, I think her kidneys are inflamed. She's holding water in, non working kidneys would be an explanation for the blood pressure and the infection for the other symptoms. She was awake shortly, but only for 2 minutes."

When they reached the doors to a trauma-room, he shook his head at Carolyn. "Please stay outside, Ma. And wait for Derek."

Carolyn stayed outside like she was told, feeling utterly helpless and lost. Minutes later, Dr. Robbins walked by and slipped into the trauma room, Dr. Bailey followed. Nurses rushed in and out of the room, through the window Carolyn could see every step the three doctors took. Soon, Marc came out.

"The kicked me out. Apparently I'm too attached."

She nodded briefly, still watching the doctors hovering over her newest grandchild. "A nurse told me that she told Derek's secretary to tell him that we are here before she went off to get Meredith out of the OR. Derek should be with us shortly."

She was just finishing her sentence when they both could her fast steps coming down the hallway.

"Mom? What is going on?" She could see the concern in Derek's face. He looked into her face, then he turned around and his eyes got big when he recognized the patient in the room. Without thinking he made steps toward the door, only to be stopped by Mark.

"No Derek, don't go in there. Let them do their work, Chloe is in good hands."

Derek struggled. It was like a déjà-vu, only without the wet clothes clinging to his body. But once again there was a person he loved with all his heart lying there and he could do nothing. This time it was even worse, because he could have prevented it- and he knew that his colleagues and friends would turn against him if he would enter the room.  
>In a sudden move of aggression, he got Marks collar and slumped him into a wall.<p>

"Derek!", his mother shouted.

Mark held up his hands, to show him that he wouldn't do anything. With a loud huff, he let his best friend go and turned around, only to stare into the trauma room through the window.

Right in this moment, Meredith ran into the ER. Still in scrubs, she came directly out the OR after a nurse told her that Chloe was brought in.

"What happened?"

When her husband didn't react, she turned to her mother in law and after her helpless shrug they both turned to Mark.

He sighed. "Her kidneys may be inflamed, she is binning water in. Also, her fever was quite high. I can't tell you more, only that her respirations were as good as they could be under this circumstance."

Meredith turned to her husband and put her hand on his arm. Through the window she could see that Arizona was putting a Central line in the girl's chest. "Let's sit down, Derek. We have to wait."

To her own surprise, he obeyed and together they took a seat on the chairs a nurse had brought. No one of them said a word while they waited. During their wait, Mark was paged down to the ER and had to leave, as well as the door to the trauma room opened and Owen Hunt ran out. They all could hear his pager going crazy. But it took another long whileuntil the door opened and Miranda Bailey came out. Her expression was cautious, as she didn't have good news.  
>Derek jumped up and rushed to her, his family followed him.<p>

"Miranda- what is it?"

Doctor Bailey looked him directly into the eyes when she started to talk. "First of all, it isn't only one thing. She has a bad case of bronchitis, close to pneumonia, but her fever is mainly caused by inflammation of the kidneys. Right now, the bit of urine she had in her bladder was more blood than anything, and it wasn't much. We are suspecting that her kidneys only work for about 10-20 percent right now, so while we are talking Arizona is getting her a bed on the peds ICU. We will get her on Dialysis, give her antibiotics and wait till her general condition has improved."

Merediths hold on Dereks arm tightened while he closed his eyes.

"Then?"

"We need an MRT. But I don't want to do this before she was conscious again. I know that she gets easily scared and finding oneself inside the machine would get her panicking. And, they have no space down in the radiology, there was a major car crash and we are getting swamped. But you two don't worry about the ER right now. I will leave to help there, Chloe is with Arizona in good hands. Page me as soon as she wakes up."

When her pager started to terrorize her again, she pulled it from her waist band and turned it off. "I have to go." With a curt nod, taking in the hanging shoulders of her colleague and the strong grip her former intern had on his arm, she turned around and hurried down to the ER.

The family stayed in silence for a few minutes, trying to process the diagnosis. Then Carolyn put her hand on her sons shoulder. "Derek, Chloe will need a few things. I'll go home and get another pajama and stuff."

He nodded, still absorbed in his own thoughts. His mind was giving him the full information overload on worst case scenarios, things only a doctor could have seen. Merediths grip onhim tightened for a second.

"I will go with her and get you some clothes. I know you want to stay with her. Mark, could you make sure that Dereks surgeries are cancelled? And mine, too?"

Mark nodded his okay. "Yes, but you two will wait with driving home. I will drive you. We don't need a car accident and both of you aren't really able to drive now."

He turned and went looking for a nurse.

While he was gone, the door to the exam room opened and Arizona and a nurse pushed the gurney out. She gave the Shepherds a tentative smile and stopped.

"We are bringing her upstairs, we have already a dialysis-station in her room. She will probably stay asleep for a while." She told them while they stepped closer.

Derek caressed her cheek before he turned to Arizona. "I'm coming with you." He pecked Meredith on her lips, then her took the place of the nurse.

While he and Arizona pushed the gurney towards the elevator, his mother and his wife stayed back, watching them go.

Carolyn reached for Merediths hand and gave her a squeeze. "She will be okay again, you know that?"

Mer nodded. She knew that if she opened her mouth to speak, she would not be able to keep her tears back. Instead she turned around to the exit when she was Mark was coming.

* * *

><p>Derek and Arizona brought the girl upstairs to the pediatrics ICE, where two nurses were already waiting for them. They showed them a little private room in which they had already a bed ready, as well as a dialysis-machine and several IV-poles. He helped them to get Chloe from the gurney into the bed, but when they started to hook her up to the machines, he was told to stay back. They were quick, and soon he could take a seat at the bedsight.<p>

He took the childs hand, and leaned back. He would wait for her to wake up without leaving. She wouldn't be alone, not even in sleep.  
>It seemed hours later when the beeping of the monitor changed. "Hm? Are you waking up?" Derek watched her face for any signs of waking. When her eyelids twitched, he put a hand on her cheek, got up and leaned himself over the bed, so that she would see his face as soon as she opened her eyes.<p>

"Chloe? Sweetie, open your eyes. Try it."

The first thing she recognized was his voice. And after that, the brightness of the room.

With a quite whimper, she closed her eyes again and turned her head into the direction she heard his voice.

"Shhh! Everything is all right, Chloe. Take your time, don't rush."

Carefully and this time, slowly, she opened her eyes again and blinked a few times to get a clear sight.

"Hey sweetheart. How are you feeling?"

Attaching her eyes to the face of her uncle she opened her mouth to answer him, but instead of words only a little whimpering escaped her. A quick glance at the monitors told him that she was getting too worked up.

"Shhh, sweetheart, you are okay. Everything will be all right again, I promise." His right hand started to pat her hair while the left one took her hand in. "Can you take a deep breath for me? Yes, like that. Again please. Good job, go on like this. And listen to me: Do you remember what happened?"

She shook her head, there was still a hint of panic in her eyes. "Was… so tired!", she gasped.

"That's not bad, it's normal. You are very ill, sweetheart. Ma called Mark and he brought you into the hospital. We have the best doctors on your case and we all agreed to bring you up to the pediatric ICU. Here you can rest properly without being disturbed by other kids." He choose his words carefully and gave her another smile, then he checked the monitors again.

"What is it?", she whispered.

"We are not sure right now. Probably a bad case of bronchitis. Along with some general problems, things your body is working with for weeks. Right now your kidneys need a bit of help, that's why there are so many machines in here." While he told her that, he continued to stroke her hair.

"Where's Mere…" She couldn't finish her question because a coughing fit erupted out of her.

He helped her to sit up a bit with raising the bed.

"Meredith and Ma are home and packing some things for you. Any wishes? I can call them. Or we will bring you the things you want later today." He leaned over and pushed the button for the nurse.

"Yes Doctor Shepherd?" A voice sounded out of a speaker.

"Chloe is awake, would you page Doctor Bailey for me, please?"

"Of course. Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you. Are you tired, baby?" He asked the child. She was looking around the room, taking in the wall with the door, which was made out of glass, but moved her head yes to his question. After that, she had to cough again, and tears shot into her eyes.

"Try to go back to sleep and get some rest.", he told her.

Nodding again, she leaned her head back into her cushion and closed her tired eyes. But despite her tiredness, the pains in her body didn't let her go to sleep that easy. She was just falling asleep when the door was opened and Dr. Bailey came in.

Derke watched her come near to the bed.

"Is she asleep again?" the female doctor whispered. Chloe, who heard this, opened her eyes slowly, and was rewarded with a smile.  
>"Hey Chloe! How are you feeling?"<p>

"Tired. Achy. Not so good." The child answered. Derek squeezed her hand gently while Dr. Bailey nodded.

"I can imagine that. Did…" she started to ask her patient some questions while taking in the stats, but Chloe interrupted her.

"How bad is it?"

"It's nothing that we can't make better in time." Answered Dr. Bailey and Derek nodded. He wanted to give his niece a cheerful face, he didn't want her to know how serious the illness really was.

"I think your uncle told you a bit about why we have you up here. But we still have to do some tests during the next days to get a proper knowledge of your illness. First of all, we will get you down to make some scans of your body."

"A CT-Scan?" Chloe asked.

"An MRT. I see, you know something about hospital life." Miranda Bailey winked at her. She was concerned by the bad physical sight Chloe gave and by the still high temperature the child was spiking. "And tomorrow, we will perform a biopsy of your kidneys. You don't have to be scared of those tests, we will make sure that they won't hurt."

The child nodded before erupting into a new coughing fit. The doctor waited for her to calm down, and after taking in the tired blinking of the child's eyes, she sat down on the bedside. "I've already called MRT, we will wait till this round of dialysis is over, then we will bring you down. Till then, you can sleep a bit more. We can see that you are very tired."

Chloe turned her head to her uncle. "Will you stay?"

"Of course. I will even spend the night here. You won't be alone, Chloe." He raised his free hand up and brushed away some tears that leaked from her eyes.

She swallowed hard, then she whispered: "I'm scared."

Derek laid his hand on her hot cheek. "Don't be. Everything will be okay in a few days. Is that why you can't sleep?"

When he got a timid nod for an answer, he looked up to Miranda, who was already on her way out to get something. When she reentered the room, Derek was still telling Chloe that there was no need in being scared.

"I'll give you something that will help you relax, dear."; said Dr. Bailey when she connected a syringe with the IV on the child's hand. Before Chloe could react in any way, the plunger was pushed down and the medication made its way through the little sick body.

"You'll probably feel even more tired than before, and groggy, but it will help you go to sleep.", explained Derek. He was watching her face closely until the medicine took effect and the girl closed her eyes.

"I will be back in about half an hour. Get some rest, dear.", said Dr. Bailey and left the room. Derek kept his promise and stayed at her side. The sedative was still working when he took her up in his arms, recognizing by her little weight how much weight she lost over the last week, and got her on another gurney. Later on, she couldn't remember the minutes in which she was rolled down to radiology and had to lay still in the MRT.  
>She didn't remember the sobs that took over her body; that they had to stop the scans for some time so that her uncle and Lexie, who was the intern assigned at her case, could console her. Only when she was brought back to her room, where Meredith and her new grandmother were waiting for her, the medication started to wear off completely, leaving her a bit more awake so that she could spend some minutes talking to them.<p>

Soon, Arizona came in, saying hello and writing down some things in her chart. She took the side of Carolyn and Meredith who wanted Derek to change out of the scrubs into something comfortable for the night. When Derek came back after his shower, a recliner was waiting in the room for him.

Chloe ways glad that he really intended to spend the night, and when it was getting dark outside and her fever, which went down after her nap, spiked high again, leaving her restless, she was more than grateful for him at her side. The nursed had talked her into eating a few spoons of soup- only to come right out of her body again. Derek was almost glued to the bedside of the child, washing her hot face again and again with a cool washcloth to appease the fever.  
>Chloe wanted to sleep, as she was told, but once again she couldn't. A little before 8 pm, she started to cry again.<p>

"Turn out the lights. Please. Can't sleep with lights on.", she asked him. His heart hurt with her broken voice and the tears on her face.

"Baby, I can't turn the lights off. The nurses need to see you and your stats clearly as long as you are that ill." He tried to reason with her.

"But I want to sleep. Turn it off!" More tears rolled down her cheeks.

With a sigh, he caressed her forehead.

"No, Chloe. If I could, I would, but I can't. Try to relax. Close your eyes, relax your muscles and think about something nice…"

She tried to relax, but her thoughts were circling around one thought. So after a few minutes she opened her eyes again.

"Uncle Derek- I don't want to die!" Derek was shocked by her words, it took him a few seconds to process that his niece was concerned about her life ending.

"You won't Chloe. I know I should have taken some time to explain it to you. But even if your kidneys are not working properly, you won't die. And no one at this hospital will just stand there and watch- so you won't get worse. Trust me. I will do everything I can to get you healthy as soon as possible."

He smiled at her and caressed her cheek again.

"And now sleep. Your body needs a lot of strength to fight your infection. You'll feel better tomorrow. Just sleep. I'm staying by your side." And after a long time, Chloe could close her eyes and let sleep take over.

* * *

><p>Review, please?<p> 


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